How to ground heating element

I have read/ seen on other threads how people are grounding when using a heat stick but I am just putting the element through the sidewall of my HLT and can't find how to ground this properly. Could I just solder the ground to the side of the kettle (which is aluminum if this makes any difference). Any help is appreciated.

I soldered a grounding lug (HomeDepot) onto my RIMS tube with some silver solder (stainless). I think that you will need to buy some special flux/solder for Aluminum, I picked up some at the Ace Hdwe store but have never used it so can't tell you how well it works.

You should be able to ground the kettle. My RIMS is grounded through my stand since it's has galvanized clamps mounting it.

Could you drill a hole and ground it with a screw through the kettle wall? Then seal it with epoxy?

Tim

I was not wanting to use epoxy as this is my HLT and so far I have kept out any epoxy use. I will look into some aluminum solder. Now my HLT is connected to my Mash tun through the wort so I need to ground it and the pump as well. I have a wooden stand so they don't all ground out to the stand. Do I need to run a ground from the mash tun and pump to the HLT (with the element) as well?

What about using JB Weld over that tab of the lug. Since its an insulator you can't use it between the lug and the pot, but if you place the lug on the pot, then JB weld over, you should have a good contact for ground, right?

JoMarky said:

What about using JB Weld over that tab of the lug. Since its an insulator you can't use it between the lug and the pot, but if place the lug on the pot, then JB weld over, you should have a good contact for ground, right?

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This is what I was trying to say

JoMarky said:

What about using JB Weld over that tab of the lug. Since its an insulator you can't use it between the lug and the pot, but if you place the lug on the pot, then JB weld over, you should have a good contact for ground, right?

Click to expand...

MX1 said:

This is what I was trying to say

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They might be in contact, but not necessarily "good contact".

Think about the fact that you probably used 12awg or larger copper wire to carry the current drawn by a heating element. Without a "GOOD" mechanical bond, you are not really making the same kind of connection for the ground and you should.

So, short story, long... I would not epoxy a ground lug to the side of the kettle.

Some ideas...
You could make a copper washer with a lug for attaching the ground and put it between the element base and the kettle. You could drill a hole at the very top of your kettle and bolt the wire to it (above the liquid level so you don;t have to worry about a leak). Maybe you can find a way to get a GOOD connection to one of the handles?

Good luck,

Ed

I was really worried about grounding the elements for my keg builds, then i remembered that the keg has a skirt....whew.

Tim

MX1 said:

I was really worried about grounding the elements for my keg builds, then i remembered that the keg has a skirt....whew.

Tim

Click to expand...

Yep, a bit easier on a keggle.

OP said his HLT is aluminum... I assumed it is a stockpot of some kind with no skirt.

It doesn't look pretty but you can drill a hole near the top of the kettle (above the level of the liquid) and bolt a grounding lug to the kettle. Personally, I would rather have something that doesn't look quite as nice but is effectively grounded.

I think that putting a ground above the water level seems like the best solution to me. Could I then run ground wire from the mash tun and pump to this HLT ground?

beeguy said:

I think that putting a ground above the water level seems like the best solution to me. Could I then run ground wire from the mash tun and pump to this HLT ground?

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The pump will be grounded via the ground lug on the plug.
Are you planning to install an element in your MT? You probably have no reason to ground the MT.

No element on the mash tun but won't it be electrically connected through the water continually moving between the two?

beeguy said:

No element on the mash tun but won't it be electrically connected through the water continually moving between the two?

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Water & wort are not conductive by any significant measure. Unless you've got something electric in your MLT, there's no need to ground it.

Excellent- thanks for all the help everyone!